Adventures and Opinions of a Minor League Baseball Fanatic

Van Andel Arena-Grand Rapids, MI: I hope this post finds that everyone had a safe and very Merry Christmas! To celebrate our holiday, we headed downstate to visit family, and to keep busy, took in a hockey game. There are really only two seasons in our eyes, baseball in summer, and hockey in winter, so we spend many nights at the rink when the ballparks are covered in snow. On this night, Brian and I went with Papa to see the Griffins host the Wild at the Van. Our first Griffs game of the season, and it was a good one. They wasted no time, as Andy Meile tickled the twine just 14 seconds into the game. The Wild tied the game shortly after, but not long after that Landon Ferraro re-established the lead for Grand Rapids. Teemu Pulkkinen scored with 43 seconds left in the period to give the Griffins at 3-1 lead going into the first intermission.

During a break, I tried to take a few pics of Brian and I with my iPhone, but they didn’t turn out too great (still posted on Twitter). This one of Bri didn’t turn out too bad, though.

Brian loves watching the Zamboni

The second period was a good one for the home team. Mitch Callahan scored a power-play goal just 2:35 into the period to put the Griffins up by three. Grand Rapids kept pouring it on, as Tomas Nosek scored a highlight-reel goal, and Marek Tvrdon scored his first AHL goal shortly after. The scoring didn’t stop there, as defenseman Nathan Paetch scored on a laser from the left circle, and Nosek tapped in his second of the night to put an end to the second period. Brian and I tried to catch up with the mascots Griff and Finn, but they didn’t get out with the fans during the game or intermissions.

Griffins mascots Griff and Finn

The third period wasn’t as excited, but still held some very good stories. First, with the Wild getting beat up, they decided to finally pull their starting goalie, and replace him with David DeSandler. With the other netminder called back up to Minnesota, the Wild needed a back-up, and signed the west Michigan native to a one-day tryout. DeSandler did a fine job, too, only giving up one goal and making six saves in his one period of work. The only goal he gave up was to former Lake Superior State Laker Colin Campbell at the 5:53 mark. In net for the Griffs, Thomas McCollum, who was sent down from the Detroit Red Wings earlier in the day. He was stellar on the night, stopping 32 out of 34 shots for Grand Rapids.

The Red Wings top prospect Anthony Mantha

Brian enjoying the game with his Papa

Fight! Fight! Dropping the gloves!!!

This was a fun night with family, and we hope to make it down to another game this season. As the last post of 2014, it was a great year and we really look forward to the challenges that 2015 will bring us. I’m still hoping to get transferred to a warmer, more baseball friendly environment, so keeping my fingers crossed, and see where the new year takes us! Final: Griffins 9, Wild 2.

Van Andel Arena-Grand Rapids, MI: After a fun afternoon at the West Michigan Whitecaps’ Open House, and a great meal at Enza’s Pizza, we made out way to the Van Andel Arena for an evening of AHL hockey featuring the home town Griffins taking on San Antonio. The Griffins won the Calder Cup last season, and were out to their best start ever in 2013, but injuries to parent club the Detroit Red Wings have depleted the roster here in GR. The Griffins still have a lot of fight in them, though, and it was fun to finally make it down to a game this season. The kids really like Van Andel Arena, also, as it’s the biggest one they’ve had a chance to visit so far. They also had a free hockey figure promotion, and we all know how much kids love getting free stuff. Brian finally got to meet one of the Griffins’ mascots, so he was all his glory at that point.

Last year’s championship banner. This is what it’s all about.

The game itself was a rough one for the hometown Griffins, as they got spanked 3-0 by San Antonio. They really just didn’t look like a typical Grand Rapids team, and made too many mistakes. The only stand out player was Petr Mrazek in net, who made 22 saves on the night, but was hung out to dry on the three Rampage goals. Head coach, and Sault Ste. Marie native, Jeff Blashill should have this team back to their winning ways by next weekend, though. The games are always a little more fun with a win like they did for us last season, but we still had a great time together. I’m not sure if we’ll make it down to another game this season, but if not we surely wish the Griffins luck on another championship run. Looking over the Whitecaps schedule, I was hoping to find a baseball/hockey double-header we could go to, but their games just don’t match up. All together, another day with the kids and my dad that I’m extremely thankful for.

Baseball and hockey, the two sports loves of my life, going together like chocolate and peanut butter. And with this outdoor hockey thing really catching on, more teams and leagues are taking part in this type of event every year. So whoever decided to build a hockey rink in the middle of a frozen baseball park, is simply brilliant. Although this is not a new concept, this past weekend was the first outdoor game for our own Grand Rapids Griffins. The Griffins took on the Toronto Marlies at Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers, in American Hockey League action. The game was part of Detroit’s Winter Festival, which featured in-state high school, NCAA, Ontario Hockey League, and the Griffs AHL game. The Comerica Park venue also hosted two alumni games from the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs. The Griffins, the defending Calder Cup Champions, and off to the best start in franchise history, found themselves tied at three all after regulation and overtime against the Marlies, however. It looked like a great experience for all involved, and will hopefully lead to more events like this in the future. I would really like the Griffins to stay close to home, though, and maybe one day play at an outdoor game at Fifth Third Ballpark, home to the West Michigan Whitecaps. This would be another great venue for hockey, with many successful high school, college, and professional teams in the area. You can even look at what the Rochester Red Wings did with their Frozen Frontier this season, as a model of success. From what I’ve read, Frontier Field did a phenomenal job of hosting hockey of all levels last month, and the same could be done at other minor league stadiums in the north. Although a Frozen Fifth Third may be a pipe dream, I guess I’ll have to wait until April to see some action there. Until then, we plan on hitting a Griffins game very soon.

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 18,000 times in 2013. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 7 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

For the second time in the last eight months, we say goodbye to a Fox Sports Detroit Girl. While Allison departed last December, and now Lauren is leaving to pursue other endeavors. Apparently she wants to focus on modelling, and will still be living in the Detroit area. Here at M.I.B. we want to thank Lauren for representing the Detroit sport teams with dignity and class. She will be difficult to replace, but Fox Sports Net is having a contest to pick the next FSD Girl. It’s too bad we never got to meet Lauren, but we were lucky enough to meet Stephanie and Brittney back in February. Good luck to Lauren in the next step of her career. Here’s her ‘goodbye’ video on YouTube:

I’m taking a small break from minor league baseball to focus on some minor league hockey. Why would I do this, you ask? Easy, when my own Grand Rapids Griffins captured the Calder Cup last night with a 5-2 win over the Syracuse Crunch. The Calder Cup is awarded to the playoff champion of the American Hockey League, which is comparable to Triple-A in baseball. The Griffins won the series four game to two over the favored Syracuse team. Grand Rapids won the first three games of the series, but the Crunch battled back to win two and bring the series back home. It would have been nice to have won it on home ice at Van Andel Arena, but a championship is special no matter where it’s won. Griffin captain Jeff Hoggan accepted the Cup at center ice, and Tomas Tatar was awarded the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the series most valuable player, scoring 16 goals and 21 points in 24 games. In net, Petr Mrazek made 24 saves for the win. First year head coach Jeff Blashill made a fine showing also, and is a native of our little town of Sault Ste. Marie here in the U.P. This is the first championship in the 17 year history of the Griffins, and 27 years of pro hockey in Grand Rapids.

Tomas Tatar was named MVP of the Calder Cup Finals

To celebrate, more than 4,000 fans were in attendance at Van Andel Arena this evening to see the Griffins and the Calder Cup. The team was also able to thank their fans. We knew this would be a special season when we saw them play in February, and they looked very solid. I would love to see the Whitecaps pick up on this, and have the Griffins honored at one of their games. They could even have a championship puck give away or something, or have the Calder Cup on display. Anyway, this is very good for my hometown of Grand Rapids. Congrats to the Griffins, and also to Syracuse on a great season.

It’s that time of year again, when sports fans relish the opportunity to watch multiple events all through the month of April. For Tigers fans, and fans of all the Detroit sports, it’s a special time also. With the Tigers season just beginning, the Red Wings vying for yet another play off run, and the Pistons, well, I’m not sure what they’ve been doing, but I’ll root for them anyway. Helping spread the joy of Detroit sports are the lovely Fox Sports Detroit Girls. This year Lauren is joined by newcomers Stephanie and Brittney, who are doing a great job representing our sports teams. This is April in the ‘D’, and it’s a great time for me to watch baseball and hockey. I’m hoping the Tigers get on track, and start playing like a premiere team, but I’m grateful just to be watching baseball at this point.

I always enjoy visiting Grand Rapids, but usually its to see the West Michigan Whitecaps play some baseball. Obviously, there’s no way baseball can be played in the crap weather Michigan is experiencing this time of year, so we watched the next best thing…minor league hockey. It was a perfect day to watch the Grand Rapids Griffins defend their home ice against the San Antonio Rampage. The kids absolutely loved Van Andel Arena, and Grand Rapids as a whole. As the second biggest city in the state, it’s a little more interesting than anything in the U.P. It was a great hockey game as the Griffins won 7-3 with five power-play goals. We even saw a penalty shot in the game. I’m not sure why it’s taken me so long to get the kids down to see the Griffins. Maybe because there is so much hockey up here, it never crossed my mind to travel to see it. We had so much fun, this will be and annual trip for us now. The Griffins play in the American Hockey League, which is equivelent to Triple-A in baseball. Grand Rapids has so much else to offer, too, as we also went to the Van Andel Museum and saw the Titanic relics exhibit. The kids were in ‘awe’ of the whole museum, and the Titanic display was amazing.

The Griffins mascot…Griff!

A little extra bonus to our trip…ok, this was the highlight…meeting the newest Fox Sports Detroit Girls, Stephanie and Brittney! The girls were extremely nice to the kids, and signed autographs for them. Brian played shy during the photo, but they still signed a baseball and his Whitecaps hat. Trevor wasn’t feeling well at first, but caught up them later during the game for a pic. The FSD Girls were more than happy to get another picture and chat with us for a while. We may have talked them into going to the Crosstown Showdown in Lansing on April 11th, but I hope we get to meet them at a Whitecaps game this summer!

Stephanie signing Brian’s Whitecaps hat!

Here’s a video the Griffins released on their YouTube channel featuring the FSD Girls! See us at the :55 mark:

Yesterday was Allison’s last official day as a Fox Sports Detroit Girl. She’s out in California now, and no doubt she will be successful in everything she does. We here a M.I.B. wanted to say ‘thank you’, and wish her all the best. She and Lauren have done a great job representing Detroit sports and the state of Michigan. Allison was also one of the few Fox Sport girls chosen to attend last year’s MLB All-Star Game in Kansas City. She’s already had an un-credited cameo in Iron Man 2, and rumor mill has it she’s dating Captain America himself, Chris Evans. As a Marvel fan when I was a kid, I think this is pretty awesome. I believe that she had a hand in choosing her successor, though her and Lauren set some pretty high standards. All the best, Allison!

It’s always hard to watch baseball come to an end in the fall, but at the same time it makes you appreciate it when it comes back the next spring. As much as we miss baseball during the winter, we don’t just sit around and sulk. Winters up here can get dull and depressing, so we really have to keep busy to beat the winter blues and make it through until the baseball fun begins. As usual, we take in a lot of hockey games up here. We live in the original ‘Hockeytown U.S.A.’, so between our Lake Superior State Lakers, junior and high school hockey, we spend a lot of time at the rink. We also do a fair share of ice skating ourselves, too. The kids are involved in their own activities throughout the school year as well. Lily participated in the youth bowling league, while Trevor played flag-football and wrestling. A special treat this winter, too, was that we were able to catch a Harlem Globetrotters game. I took Trevor and Lily a few years ago, but this was Brian’s first time seeing them and he had a great time. We were also able to see the Stanley Cup at a Detroit Red Wings Alumni game which was a thrill for the kids. It wasn’t just sports that held our interest, as we saw some rock concerts, too. I took the two older kids up into Canada to see Avril Lavigne (my hearts pants…), and saw legendary rock bands like Slaughter and Stryper come to town. We also spent some time playing outside, and over at the tubing hill blazing down the icy slopes. Do you think that scared Brian at all…No. Anyway, I might not win father of the year..I’ve been known to give the kids NyQuil out of a shot glass, and help them with their math by teaching them Blackjack, but we do have a lot of fun together. Plus, only a single dad can get away with a full size hockey net in the living room, and foosball table instead of a dinner table!

Winter Fun

Lots of Hockey

Harlem Globetrotters

Brian was in awe of the Globetrotters, even after seeing them on ‘Scooby-Doo‘!

Kids’ Activities

Rock Concerts

Bad pic, but Avril is down there, trust me. My eyes never left that girl the entire time she was on stage…

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If you're a baseball fan, you're in the right place. I write about my experiences at the ballpark, express my opinions about Major League Baseball, and I sometimes interview baseball players. You can find me on Twitter @APieceofTheGame.